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"If AI writes code, won't jobs disappear?" is a joke, but it's no longer a joke these days. GitHub Copilot and CodeX already write code for you, but Google has just launchedJulesIt seems to be on a slightly different level.

In addition to being equipped with Google's latest AI, Gemini 2.0, the key point of this Jules is "Self-disciplined」！

Maybe one day it will do all of this for us? I can only hope! I tried it out to see what it could do.

What you can do with Jules

Jules:AI agents that autonomously carry out coding tasksIt goes beyond simple code generation and enables advanced automation such as:

• Breaking down and planning complex tasksBreak down a given task into small steps and create an implementation plan.
• Code generation and modificationGenerate code across multiple source files or modify existing code.
• Bug fixes and debuggingIdentify and fix bugs in your code.
• Creating and Running Tests: Run existing tests or create new ones to verify that your changes work correctly.
• Get/clone a repository: Get code from a repository like GitHub, clone it into a virtual machine, and work on it.
• Creating a pull requestOnce you've completed your code changes, submit them as a pull request.
• Working asynchronously: Allows coding tasks to proceed in the background while you work on other tasks.
• Audio Summary (CodeCast): Create an audio summary of your recent chord activity.

How is it different from ChatGPT's new feature "Codex"?

What is Codex?

Codex is equipped with a dedicated large-scale language model, "codex-1," developed by OpenAI. This is based on the latest model, "o3," and is optimized for software development.Incorporating the coding style and knowledge of experienced senior engineersIt's a clever model.

What you can do

• Code completion, suggestions and generation (real-time)
• Code generation from comments
• Suggesting functions and methods in existing code
• Strengths in modifying and expanding existing code bases

Codex/Copilot primarily acts as an "input assistant" to help you write or modify existing code in real time. It acts like an AI pair programmer (coding assistant tool).

Meanwhile, Jules acts as a "surrogate developer"Ability to autonomously carry out a wider range of tasks from project start to finishThis is the big difference. Therefore, Jules may be able to handle the initial construction of a new project from scratch, and it can be said that it is more focused on "automating development tasks."

• You can also create a new projectJules creates the necessary files and directory structure based on the task you give it (e.g., "Create a basic web application").Ability to create from scratch and generate codeI have.
• Deep integration with GitHub repositoriesJules clones your specified GitHub repository into a virtual environment and works in it, allowing you to go beyond single file changes and work on the entire project, making structural changes across the entire repository, adding new files, deleting existing files, and more.
• Autonomous work: The app will guide you through the entire process, from initial project setup, to creating files, generating code, running tests, and creating pull requests.

Jules has more autonomy and can be entrusted with the entire development task, almost like a "deputy programmer"!

I actually tried it!

How to use Jules

Jules is mainlyChat-style UIGive instructions through.

1.Visit Jules：jules.google.com You can access it from here.

2.Connecting a GitHub repository: Select the GitHub repository and branch you want to work on. For this test, we prepared the "jules-test" repository.

3.Prompt instructions: Japanese is fine! This time we will try to implement a clock using JS.

4.Implementation Plan ApprovalJules first presents an implementation plan, which the user reviews and approves. It's a clear process!

5.Coding and progress checkOnce the plan is approved, Jules will automatically start coding and report back on the progress of the work.
It will take a little while, but the index.html, script.js, and style.css files will be generated!

6.Review and approve changesOnce the changes are complete, Jules creates a pull request with a diff of the changes, which you can review and approve to be reflected in the repository.

Aren't you having trouble coming up with a commit message? This app will summarize it and create it for you!

Pull the branch and... you'll see the files generated in your editor!

The browser preview looks like this!

With previous AI functions, if you wrote a prompt like "Implement a clock in JavaScript," it would simply tell you the implementation steps and code content, but with this function, it will do the entire process, from creating files to linking to git!

However, while it seems like it would be okay to leave a simple implementation like this to someone else, I wonder how large an implementation it would actually be okay to leave to them...

Now, let's add a little more and ask for the decorations to be more colorful.

I've got a few suggestions, but I'll leave it up to you.

The background has been changed to a gradient!

Just by creating a repository, it creates files from scratch, codes them, and even pushes them to git!Substitute Programmeris.

However, it is currently available as a beta version and there are usage restrictions (such as 5 tasks per day).

Also, creating the files and implementing the program took some time, and the input fields were buggy and not always reflected properly.

In addition, if Jules encounters an error, the work at that point will not be committed, so even if you want to see the differences in work up to that point, they may not be reflected.

I actually requested that this JavaScript clock implementation be converted to Next.js, and I was able to successfully convert it to Next.js and set up the environment, but an error occurred along the way and I was unable to pull the Next.js file to my computer. While it is convenient, I think it also has some drawbacks.

summary

If Jules continues to get smarter, you may be able to leave the tedious routine tasks to Jules and spend more time on things like studying new technologies or pursuing your hobbies!

Jules is sure to be a great partner for engineers and completely change the way we think about development!